Homeowners in the Northeast face record-high heating oil prices this October 2026, driven by global distillate shortages and military conflict with Iran. Senators and state officials are pressing federal agencies to release billions in winter assistance funds.
Retail Heating Oil Prices Spike Across the Northeast
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that national heating oil prices will average $5.26 a gallon, representing a 34% increase from last winter. Americans who rely on oil to warm their homes are staring down steep costs as the winter heating season approaches. In parts of the Northeast, where roughly 82% of the nation’s 4.1 million oil-heating households are concentrated, retail prices have already climbed much higher. Roughly 3.4 million homes in that area depend on heating oil, and the National Energy Assistance Directors Association projected that heating a residence with oil would spike by approximately 50% this winter, moving from $1,749 last year to $2,627.
State surveys from late September and early October show retail averages hitting $6.16 a gallon in New York and $5.91 in Connecticut. On Long Island, the average price reached $6.37 a gallon, a 65.9% increase over the same week a year earlier, while roughly 40% of Long Island homeowners use the fuel to keep warm. In Massachusetts, the average retail cost reached $6.12 a gallon as of October 5, up about 73% from $3.53 a year earlier. Maine’s survey showed an average of $5.96 a gallon, marking a surge for residents like Lisa Furman of Hancock County in northern Maine, who expects to pay $3,400 for heating oil over the next 10 months compared to the $1,500 she is used to spending in a season.
Distillate Fuel Stocks Fall Below Five-Year Averages
Distillate fuel stocks are low heading into winter, with inventories expected to be about 11% below the five-year average in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Households Alter Buying Habits to Manage Energy Costs
Residents are purchasing fuel in smaller quantities, taking minimum 100-gallon deliveries rather than filling their tanks while hoping prices will fall, and turning to firewood as supplemental heat. The high cost of oil is forcing households to alter how they buy and budget for heat.
The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps millions of households afford their energy bills, but advocates and officials warn that current funding will not stretch as far given the record prices.
Senators and Lawmakers Demand Urgent Federal Relief
A group of Democratic senators and Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., sent a letter to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, requesting that he pursue at least $3 billion in additional financial support for LIHEAP. Lawmakers and state energy officials are pressing the federal government for a rapid release of funds. A bipartisan group of 31 senators also wrote a letter urging the secretary to release at least 90% of the program's roughly $4 billion to states by November 1.
In the House, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) hosted a roundtable with leaders of New Hampshire Community Action Partnership agencies to discuss the impact of rising energy costs on Granite Staters and the importance of LIHEAP. Pappas also introduced legislative measures including the American Homes First Act, which would increase LIHEAP funding by redirecting $1 billion from President Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ slush fund, and the Consumer Fuel Prices Relief Act, which would provide federal fuel tax relief by pausing the gas, diesel, and aviation fuel taxes until the end of September 2027.